Battambang

Our first stop on today’s moto ride through Battambang province’s countryside was Kamping Poy, an 8 km long dam commissioned by the Khmer Rouge during the late seventies. It was built entirely by hand and an alleged 10,000 Cambodians fell victim to malnutrition, disease and exhaustion during its construction. Those who opposed the harsh conditions were summarily executed. Though a peaceful spot now, Kamping Poy is still referred to by locals as the “killing dam.”

Villagers living nearby use its terraces to bathe and wash their clothes.

Boating through a field of lotuses (loti?)

Another 10,000 Cambodians died at the “killing caves” of Wat Phnom Sampeau, a Buddhist temple turned Khmer Rouge internment camp. A small fraction of the victims’ remains have been excavated and are now housed in makeshift shrines as morbid reminders of atrocities committed at the hands of the Khmer Rouge during their short lived reign.

According to my guide, prisoners were rarely shot to death. Some, as was pointed out on one of the skulls, had nails driven through the tops of their heads. Others were clubbed to death. Children, labeled enemies of the state along with their parents, were pushed into deep pits. Those who didn’t die from the fall would die of starvation; their broken limbs prevented them from climbing out.

An old artillery turret sits near the hill top temple, trained toward enemies of a bygone era:

We continued the afternoon on a few less sobering attractions.

Wat Ek Phnom temple ruins

James, my moto driver shook a tree full of giant fruit bats so I could take some photos. This was the only one that turned out:

We returned to town on a norry, a crude bamboo train powered by a tractor motor running on the public railway lines. Many Cambodians living beyond Battambang’s city limits rely on the norry service to reach the town center because motorbikes are unaffordable and rural roads leave something to be desired.

I’ve read that the government intends on shutting down the norry service in the near future because of its obvious dangers. I’d imagine a couple of accidents must have involved trains at some point.

In and around Battambang’s town center: